If helmets were optional...

[spareparts]

If helmets were optional, I'd still wear one.

Dealing with wind blast and smarting eyes is not pleasant.
Dealing with possible flying debris can be painful.
Dealing with potential head injuries at speed and surviving them is horrific.
Dealing with death through head injury is irresponsible towards my family.

Considering my recent 40mph RTA resulted in being knocked unconscious for almost an hour, having no recollection of the incident, and my C3 Pro being smashed through the side - but saving my life - yes, helmets are worth wearing.

Not wearing a helmet is, for the reasons above, just plain stupid and selfish.

[Prof Prolapse]

Yeah but think how cool you'd look.

[EagleMoto4-2]

spareparts said:

If helmets were optional, I'd still wear one.

Dealing with wind blast and smarting eyes is not pleasant.
Dealing with possible flying debris can be painful.
Dealing with potential head injuries at speed and surviving them is horrific.
Dealing with death through head injury is irresponsible towards my family.

Considering my recent 40mph RTA resulted in being knocked unconscious for almost an hour, having no recollection of the incident, and my C3 Pro being smashed through the side - but saving my life - yes, helmets are worth wearing.

Not wearing a helmet is, for the reasons above, just plain stupid and selfish.

This. Helmets aren't legally required in sportscars without screens, such as the Ariel Atom. But having consciously made the decision to wear a helmet when driving my old Westfield home before I fitted a screen, I am glad I was wearing one when a stone was kicked up by a car in front of me on a dual carriageway and smacked me right dead centre above the visor where my forehead would have been. I dare not think about the potential damage a stone at 70mph+ hitting my head would have made, even more so if it had happened to be a few inches lower and entered my eye. And then there are those assholes who chuck their cigarette butts, still lit, out of their window!

[DragsterRR]

I wouldn't be here without helmets.
When I was knocked off the bike and in hospital, I swore blind to my mate that my head never hit the floor.
He brought what was left of my helmet in. If I had survived I wouldn't have had half my face.

[MotorsportTom]

I've torn around the car park at work at pretty silly speeds on an off road bike with no helmet. It's fun and scary in equal measure

I like doing it from time to time however wouldn't fancy it on the road unless it was nipping to the shop while at work as it's literally half a mile on back roads.

[patmahe]

I can understand why some might not want to wear helmets for short runs, hassle of suiting up, carrying it around etc... but seriously think of how often you see other people doing stupid st right in front of you. Regardless of how defensively you think you ride there will come a point where there is nothing you can do within the laws of physics and probably through no fault of your own. At that moment do you want a helmet on your head or not?

The problem is you don't know when that moment is coming, so the only way to give yourself the best possible chance of not being a vegetable or dead is to always wear it, might sound patronising and I can also understand the 'I should be free to do what I want, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else' argument, the thing is if your head explodes all over somebodies windscreen, chances are, unless that individual is a very cold person that experience will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Equally if they feel they killed you, rather than thinking 'it was his own stupid fault for not wearing a helmet' that will weigh heavily on them too.

Like it or not we all have to share the road, why increase the risk of ruining your or somebody elses life for the sake of some wind in your hair or bugs in your teeth. It may be hassle to throw on your helmet but its very little and very worthwhile hassle when you consider the potential consequences.

[Disastrous]

Just occurs to me:

For 'us', is riding without a helmet or protective gear akin to say a professional rider doing the TT (in full gear)? On the basis that a crash probably means game over, it would seem to be about the same level of risk/consequence...

I'm probably not explaining well but when they sadly up for the TT, they must know deep down that one slip is most probably going to have very fking severe consequences. But we don't think they should stop doing that, do we?

[George111]

Disastrous said:

Just occurs to me:

For 'us', is riding without a helmet or protective gear akin to say a professional rider doing the TT (in full gear)? On the basis that a crash probably means game over, it would seem to be about the same level of risk/consequence...

I'm probably not explaining well but when they sadly up for the TT, they must know deep down that one slip is most probably going to have very fking severe consequences. But we don't think they should stop doing that, do we?

But that's a sport and they don't plan to crash and they take all reasonable precautions so that if they do crash, they have a chance of surviving. Riding without a helmet is just permitting yourself to be injured when you could take the simple route to not being injured.

A girl I used to live next door to many years ago, went on the back of her boyfriends motorbike, she was about 15 at the time IIRC. It was in a farmers field where cattle were occasionally kept, so grassy and no other traffic . . . but she fell off at relatively low speed and hit her head on a rock in the grass. She did so much damage to her brain that she was unable to feed herself and still to this day, relies on carers and is unable to even live on her own. You never know what's just round the corner so you need to take sensible precautions and a helmet is just one of those sensible precautions. Even cyclists wear them now !

[Disastrous]

George111 said:

Disastrous said:

Just occurs to me:

For 'us', is riding without a helmet or protective gear akin to say a professional rider doing the TT (in full gear)? On the basis that a crash probably means game over, it would seem to be about the same level of risk/consequence...

I'm probably not explaining well but when they sadly up for the TT, they must know deep down that one slip is most probably going to have very fking severe consequences. But we don't think they should stop doing that, do we?

But that's a sport and they don't plan to crash and they take all reasonable precautions so that if they do crash, they have a chance of surviving. Riding without a helmet is just permitting yourself to be injured when you could take the simple route to not being injured.

You're misunderstanding me.

Nobody is suggesting you would ride without a helmet and intend to crash. In the same way that TT riders don't intend to crash in full gear, neither would I intend to crash without a helmet. They absolutely know that despite all their precautions, they're getting a lengthy hospital stay at a bare minimum, as would I if I came off wearing no gear at any sort of speed.

Thus to me it's almost the same. The've raised the speeds and consequently the stakes so high that them riding with full gear must be tantamount to you or I riding in shirt sleeves with no helmet.

And I say this as someone who has had a big crash, bounced their head down the road in a helmet blah blah.

[powerstans]

I have crashed my mountain bike at about 20mph and summersaulted over the bars landed on my head and cracked a good quality push bike helmet through. I have also crashed my road bike over the bonnet of car again at about 10 to 15 MPH after if pulled out of a junction straight in front of me, I landed on my head that time and ended up with concussion and trip to hospital. I always wear a helmet on a push bike now. I would not dream of riding a motor bike without a helmet.
Also to all those who say 'short trips at low speeds' don't road accident stats show this is where and when most accidents happen?
I have also had a Westfield with aero screen and having been hit on the forehead by a wasp at 30 MPH I would at a minimum wear safety glasses, it hurt and I like my eyesight.
And for those of us with hair my experience from the Westfield is that if you like a wild and windy hair style (blown to bits) ride without a helmet if not ride with a helmet and live with helmet hair neither is a perfect option but one might see you get there and back alive.

[Russwhitehouse]

A couple of years ago i wrote my Hayabusa off, entirely my own fault and noone else involved, no prizes for guessing how (God i loved that bike!)Had i not been wearing a top of the range helmet and all the leather clobber to go with it, i would not be writing this!Nuff said!

[cmaguire]

moanthebairns said:

Unless you car is equipped with a 5 point harness you do know if you lean forward slowly you can touch your toes. It sure as he'll doesn't restrict you at roundabouts.

I can't believe the amount of retarded statements on here, people's views on helmets and seatbelts just shows you why the government have to pass common send laws to protect the retards in society.

I can assure you it does.
As I prefer to have my back against the seat as a rule, I am unlikely to want to lean forward slowly if I'm hard on the brakes from 100+ with the tyres close to breaking traction approaching a roundabout. I'm wanting to lean forward quickly at a precise moment in time (to decide if I have to stop or not), and a conventional seatbelt will not allow this.

[srob]

neelyp said:

I think you'll find it's only the passenger in the sidecar that doesn't need a helmet, the rider and pillion on the bike do.
I've no idea about quads though.

Rider and pillion have to wear helmets, passenger/s in the sidecar doesn't have to.

[DragsterRR]

Just having read through most of the thread....

"I wouldn't wear one for short trips".

I was going around the block after servicing the bike when I got hit by a car coming out of a side street.
I was doing somewhere between 20 and 30.
I was hospitalised for 9 months and without a helmet I would have been dead.

Just cos it's local and slow doesn't mean it can't kill ya.

(BTW rider skill didn't come into it, I couldn't have avoided it, never even saw it)

[Steve Bass]

frankly, you'd have to be a complete prick not to wear a lid every single time.

[underwhelmist]

cmaguire said:

... hard on the brakes from 100+ with the tyres close to breaking traction approaching a roundabout. I'm wanting to lean forward quickly at a precise moment in time (to decide if I have to stop or not), and a conventional seatbelt will not allow this.

You are the reason I'm always fully kitted up. Nobber.

Edited for spelling. In a 10 word post. Nobber

Edited by underwhelmist on Tuesday 2nd February 00:40

[moanthebairns]

cmaguire said:

moanthebairns said:

Unless you car is equipped with a 5 point harness you do know if you lean forward slowly you can touch your toes. It sure as he'll doesn't restrict you at roundabouts.

I can't believe the amount of retarded statements on here, people's views on helmets and seatbelts just shows you why the government have to pass common send laws to protect the retards in society.

I can assure you it does.
As I prefer to have my back against the seat as a rule, I am unlikely to want to lean forward slowly if I'm hard on the brakes from 100+ with the tyres close to breaking traction approaching a roundabout. I'm wanting to lean forward quickly at a precise moment in time (to decide if I have to stop or not), and a conventional seatbelt will not allow this.

congratulations, you win the internet Mr McRae. What is it you drive out of interest?

what a fking ahole you really are. I mean, I know BB has went downhill recently, the fact this has got to 5 pages with serious debate proves it but fk me, there is so much pish in that post its on a new level.

[julian64]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Here be the nanny state. You think you have the right to define other peoples level of safety even though it doesn't affect you and only affects them.

And you have a sycophant to boot.

This is why people should have lessons in citizenship before they are allowed to vote.

[The Beaver King]

cmaguire said:

I can assure you it does.
As I prefer to have my back against the seat as a rule, I am unlikely to want to lean forward slowly if I'm hard on the brakes from 100+ with the tyres close to breaking traction approaching a roundabout. I'm wanting to lean forward quickly at a precise moment in time (to decide if I have to stop or not), and a conventional seatbelt will not allow this.

I can't imagine in what world you could possibly need to decelerate from 100+ mph coming up to a roundabout. I mean, I like driving fast on occasion, but carrying that kind of speed up to a roundabout is just stupid. Seriously stupid.

[moanthebairns]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

can you explain this post further as your talking ste.